Greetings, Dad,
I wanted to write you one more short letter. This one may sting a bit, but you need to hear it. In 1981, a movie called Chariots of Fire directed by Hugh Hudson told the story of Eric Liddell. Eric was a Scottish Olympic Gold Medalist runner. Eric refused to run in a heat held on Sunday. He lost certain privileges. But you see, Eric was a Sabbatarian. He preferred to honor the Lord’s Day instead of the glory of a gold medal. You may disagree vehemently, but at least you can give the man credit for standing up to his convictions on the fourth commandment.
I am not writing to persuade you of Sabbatarianism. There are various shades of it, and some strike me as too strict. But I do wish to convince you that when your children go on travel teams on Sunday, and you conveniently miss the worship of God’s people because of baseball or soccer season, you are violating the clear mandate of the Apostle in Hebrews 10:25. I know for a fact that your motives are pure. You want to spend more time with your son, but I have seen these scenarios played out again and again. Your children will not be better Christians because they spend more time with you. Your children will grow in their Christian walk because they worship the living God.
It will probably be a hard conversation to have, but as the summer approaches, I would make a definitive decision to forbid sports’ activities that would force you and your son to miss the corporate worship. You see, dear brother, families are not built in a baseball field; they are built in the field of the Lord. I know this is hard, but I am grateful to you for listening to my concerns. I hope we can have a few more conversations.
Your truly, Pastor Brito
Excellent reminder and exhortation!